Two roads selected for fixing

Some of the holes and cracks that can be seen along Second Street N.W. The street was one of two roads in Mandan that will be fixed with money from the state legislature. Brian L. Gray photo

By Brian L. Gray

The city of Mandan has chosen two roads to be fixed up this summer with funds allocated by the 2013 State Legislative Session.

The roads that will be worked on will be Second Street N.W. from Collins Avenue to Sixth Avenue N.W., and 46th Avenue S.E. from 29th Street S.E. to South Bay Drive S.E. Both projects will receive mill, patch, overlay and chip seal work.

The low bids for both of the projects went to Northern Improvement. The total cost of both projects will be $216,718. The Mandan City Commission approved the bids for the projects during its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 4.

Commissioner Dennis Rohr said that while the work on Second Street is needed, mill and overlay work will only temporarily fix its problems. “We must also keep in mind that the infrastructure on Second Street is old,” he said. “To do it right would mean redoing its sewer lines, which would require the street to be torn up entirely, and that would be a horrible burden on homeowners in that area. This is not the best approach to doing this, but it is the affordable one at the time.”

The road on 46th Avenue S.E was selected because of the damage it received during the spring and summer of 2011, when the street saw a substantial increase in traffic after a parcel of land along the street was used for sandbagging, during that year’s flooding of the Missouri River.

With the funds coming from the state, the improvements will come at no cost to impacted homeowners. No special assessments will be issued.

Other street projects that were considered by the city included 40th Avenue S.E. from Memorial Highway to the city wastewater treatment plant, Main Street from 10th Avenue West to Twin City Drive, Mandan Avenue N.E. from I-94 to Old Red Trail, 10th Avenue S.W. from Main Street to the Heart River Bridge and Sixth Avenue S.E. from Main Street to the Heart River Bridge.

The city of Mandan received $843,243 from the State Treasurer and the funds have been placed in the Highway Distribution Fund for use on roadway maintenance purposes. The city will have $626,525.59 remaining for other proposed projects in the future.